// brand bootcamp
WEEK 5
This week are looking at your brand story.
A compelling brand story really can work wonders for your business, people buy from people, and everyone loves a good story. It’s what we connect with, and when you build a real sense of connection you build a customer base.
what is a brand story?
A brand story is just a story that helps you and your audience understand where you’re coming from, and why you might relate to each other.
It links what you stand for with what you do.
By what you stand for, I mean the essence of your brand. It’s not the product you sell, and it’s not to make money. It’s the driving force behind your business, and it differentiates you from the competition.
your brand story…
Your brand story is one of the pieces that will bring your brand to life, it will create connection and will help your audience remember your business.
We all love a great story, and our brains are wired to engage and remember them. That’s why some stories are passed down generation to generation.
Knowing what to include can be hard, but don’t worry, I have some questions to help you write yours.
Your brand story needs to be compelling and allow your customers and clients to really feel connected with your business, to position you as the expert or authority in your field. The biggest thing to remember is your brand story really is about them, not you!
Consider some of the brands you love - what is it about what they do that you love so much? Is it entwined with their brand story? Does their story give weight to their brand and allow you to understand their reason for being?
Often the brand story is to do with how you got to where you are now, what brought you here, to this exact spot. This isn’t a CV though and no-one wants to read reams of your life history, but what are the key moments that got you here?
Are there any things you remember from growing up that played a role - someone who inspired you or influenced you? Perhaps you have been through something significant that has altered your outlook? Perhaps you have made a conscious decision to leave the rat race, change direction and live by your values? What was the catalyst?
Is there something about the way you do business, the customers or clients or products you choose that you feel is a thread that runs through everything you do? What has inspired you? How would you describe your business journey to a friend?
You will see below there are three main types of brand story; the origin story, the purpose story and the adversity story - but you will also see that there are big overlaps and your story is quite likely to be a mix of all three and that’s absolutely fine. You story doesn’t need to be long, but it needs to pack a punch!
remember your brand story really is about them, not you.
the origin story…
What was the problem in the world that you have the power to solve?
how does your past help your audience’s present?
How does your experience benefit your audience?
the purpose story…
Why have you put your service or product into the world?
What kind of community does your client or customer get to be part of by supporting your business?
What is the purpose and mission behind your business?
The adversity story…
Have you overcome something, was there a conflict or problem you overcame that led you to start your business?
Can you tell me a story about how you ended up here, was there something in your way, something you changed to get to where you are now?
Can you write it in a story arc - inciting incident, rising action, success story, resolution. You may like to learn more about story arcs here…
How does the end resolution of your story benefit your audience?
Does you ‘going through something’ help them in some way? Does it mean you have walked the path and can help them to fast-track?
Can your audience see themselves (or their desires) in your story? Perhaps they are trying to overcome something in their lives too? Perhaps they would like to ‘follow in your footsteps’ and you can offer advice and help them skip the ‘trial and error’ stage?
where’s the gap?
Some people start their business because of seeing a ‘gap’ for something, perhaps something they were looking for themselves and struggled to find. For example, my previous clients ‘Jefferson’s Glorious Ice Cream’ was started by a husband and wife team, who were parents to a child with bad food allergies. Celine worked full time in a busy corporate job, yet spent hours cooking special food for her soon to suit his diet. The one food he really missed was ice cream, as the ones available just didn’t match the real thing, so she set out to create something delicious that he could eat.
Using only natural ingredients Celine tested and trialed ingredients, creating ice cream at home for several years, perfecting the recipes, before she and her husband left their corporate lives to set up Jefferson’s ice cream parlour in Balham. They now spend their days creating and serving glorious ice cream of the highest quality, made in small batches on site, that also caters to those with food allergies like her son.
Another of my clients had twin babies (a boy and a girl) and she looking for beautiful, high quality knitted baby blankets that were organic and gender neutral. She bought several which didn’t survive the repeated washing and the rigours of twin life. She saw a gap…So ‘Isla & Fraser’ was born. The brand creates exceptionally soft baby blankets, bonnets and booties and is now award winning. Their brand story really does show the power of a great story…more on this later.
example brand stories…
Brixton Brewery
BROUGHT TO LIFE BY THE INTREPID WINDRUSH GENERATION, BIRTHPLACE OF LEGENDARY DAVID BOWIE, BELOVED FOR ITS VIBRANT MARKETS AND FREEWHEELING NIGHTLIFE, THIS IS BRIXTON IN ALL ITS GLORY.
Our story…
Started in a railway arch in 2013, Brixton Brewery was the dream of two couples who wanted to put Brixton on the map for great beer. They had met by chance in a local bar and bonded over their shared passion for beer and for the non-stop energy of the South London neighbourhood they all called home.
They agreed that every great neighbourhood deserves a great brewery; and so Brixton Brewery was born.
We infuse the flavour of Brixton into everything that we do. Our beers are named after Brixton landmarks, inspired by the flavours of its markets, and packaged in colourful cans that reference the exuberant batik fabrics sold there.
HOW IT ALL STARTED
While travelling through Argentina in 2006, TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie saw the hardships faced by children without shoes. This inspired him to create a for-profit business with giving at its core. The idea? For every pair of shoes the company sold, a new pair would be given to a child in need.
And with that, TOMS—short for Tomorrow’s Shoes—was born.
TOMS Today
TOMS has always stood for a better tomorrow. Thirteen years later and nearly 100 million pairs of shoes given, we’ve come to understand that communities across the globe face new and complex challenges, and we believe it’s our responsibility to do more.
So, we challenged ourselves to redefine a better tomorrow, and here’s what we came up with:
A better tomorrow is one where humanity thrives.
To us, that means no matter who you are or where you live, you feel physically safe, mentally healthy, and have equal access to opportunity. And, to support our vision of a thriving humanity, we now give both shoes and impact grants to partners around the world who are working to create positive change across these three areas.
Green & Black’s was founded in London in 1991, by husband and wife, Craig Sams and Jo Fairley. Craig was the organic pioneer, opening Britain’s first natural food shop in 1969. Upon his quest for organic peanuts, he came across what was soon to be Green & Black’s - organic cocoa. He commissioned a sample of chocolate with 70% cocoa, real vanilla, and most importantly it was organic. The first of its kind in the UK. As a journalist, Jo knew this chocolate had to be taken to market.
HOMEWORK
your why?
A good place to start is your ‘why’? Why do you get up every morning and do what you do? Why does it matter? How does it make you feel?
What is the reason you set up the business in the first place? Why did you do it? What was the reason you decided to do what you do originally? Is it to do with a sense of purpose, a passion? Did you have a change of career - if so why? Perhaps you have learnt new skills, or made your own dreams come true in some way and want to help others? Was there a key moment in your life that changed things for you and made you decide to pursue the path you are now on? Has this been a lifelong passion? Is it ‘in your blood’ in some way?
Perhaps it’s a simpler reason, perhaps you produce something artisan, something that is useful or simply joyful. Why do you do it? What does your thing allow someone else to do? Allow them to feel?
Why is what you do important, why does it matter?
Take a blank piece of paper and start writing, brainstorm everything that you can think of that got you here now. Often times it’s the smaller seemingly obvious or incidental things that can be woven into your story to give personality and weight.
Your story needs to connect on an emotional level, and being HUMAN, not perfect is really important here.
Next it’s time to refine what you have, start to pull it together, perhaps into a chronological order, perhaps into paragraphs. Once you have some words down, take a break, come back to it later, ask someone to read it. Ideally type it up and please share it with me via email so I can have a read of what you have and help you to refine and edit.
This is a big piece of your brand jigsaw, once you have it written you have done the heavy lifting, lots of other pieces start to fall into place, such as your social media messaging.
The Isla & Fraser story talks about Rebecca’s memories of her grandmother collecting issues of Vogue, and recently it was read by someone at the magazine. Vogue then asked got in touch and asked to feature Isla&Fraser in this month’s edition, something Rebecca and Simon were thrilled about!
Your brand story needs to talk about your transformation (if there has been one), about your brand values (what you stand for, and against) you reason for being. It needs to talk about what this means to your clients or customers, what it means for your business. Your story is what makes your brand unique and gives meaning.
A great brand story helps the reader to connect with the brand, and adds emotional depth to your business.
— Liz Carrington